UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili
With 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals recorded globally, 2024 marked the recovery of international tourism from the worst crisis in the sector’s history.
A majority of destinations welcomed more international tourists in 2024 than they did before the pandemic, while visitor spending also continued to grow strongly.
According to the latest World Tourism Barometer from UN Tourism, an estimated 1.4 billion tourists travelled internationally in 2024, indicating a virtual recovery (99%) of pre-pandemic levels.
This represents an increase of 11% over 2023, or 140 million more international tourist arrivals, with results driven by strong post-pandemic demand, robust performance from large source markets and the ongoing recovery of destinations in Asia and the Pacific.
The Middle East (95 million arrivals) remained the strongest-performing region when compared to 2019, with international arrivals 32% above pre-pandemic levels in 2024, though 1% higher compared to 2023.
Africa (74 million) welcomed 7% more arrivals than in 2019, and 12% more than in 2023.
Europe, the world’s largest destination region, saw 747 million international arrivals in 2024 (+1% above 2019 levels and 5% over 2023) supported by strong intraregional demand. All European subregions surpassed pre-pandemic levels, except for Central and Eastern Europe where many destinations are still suffering from the lingering effects of the Russian aggression on Ukraine.
The Americas (213 million) recovered 97% of pre-pandemic arrivals (-3% over 2019), with the Caribbean and Central America already exceeding 2019 levels. Compared to 2023, the region saw 7% growth.
Asia and the Pacific (316 million) continued to experience a rapid recovery in 2024, though arrival numbers were still 87% of pre-pandemic levels, an improvement from 66% at the end of 2023. International arrivals grew 33% in 2024, an increase of 78 million from 2023.
By subregions, North Africa and Central America saw the strongest performance in 2024, with 22% and 17% more international arrivals than before the pandemic.
Southern Mediterranean Europe (+8%) and the Caribbean (+7%) also enjoyed robust growth, as did Northern Europe (+5%) and Western Europe (+2%).
UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “In 2024, global tourism completed its recovery from the pandemic and, in many places, tourist arrivals and specially earnings are already higher than in 2019. Growth is expected to continue throughout 2025, driven by strong demand contributing to the socio-economic development of both mature and emerging destinations. This recalls our immense responsibility as a sector to accelerate transformation, placing people and planet at the center of the development of tourism.”
